Car-signal.



J. F. MOELROY.

OAR SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, 1912.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITN/liZ/Sia: H I INVENTOR X; 7:1 lllw P ATTY HE NORRIS PETERS C0. PHOTO-L!THC., WASHING TON, D, C.

J. P. MGBLROY.

OAR SIGNAL.

APPLICATION TILED FEB. 27, 1912.

1 129,80 :1 Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTY RS Ca, PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. c.

i Ag w JAMES F. MCELROY, 0F ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR TO CONSOLIDATED CAR.-

I-IEATING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

CAR-SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb..2*3, 1915..

Application filed. February 27, 1912. Serial'No. 680,231.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs F. MoELRoY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, county of Albany, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Signals, the following being a full, clear and exact disclosure of the one form of my invention which I at present deem preferable.

For a detailed description of the present form of my invention, reference may be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a diagram of circuits showing my system, Fig. 2 shows a modified circuit arrangement, Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of a door switch and Fig. 4 is a plan of the same.

In car signals it has been customary to provide the circuit of the starting signal with closers in series operated by the re spective doors, so that the circuit is closed when all the doors are shut, thereby giving the signal to start, and remains closed normally, or so long as all the doors are shut. In my present arrangement I purpose to have a normally open circuit for the starting signal which will be closed momentarily to give the starting signal when the last one of a series of doors is closed. By this means it is not necessary to maintain the signal circuit closed normally, or so long as all the doors are shut. For this purpose I provide each door with two sets of circuitclosing contacts which I will distinguish as the primary and the secondary contacts. All of the primary contacts are normally closed and in series in the first half of the signal circuit, and all 01"? the secondary con tacts are normally open and in multiple in the second half of that circuit. All of the primary contacts are closed so long as the doors are closed, and open so long as the doors are open; but the secondary contacts are only closed momentarily as the door comes to its closed position, such action being preceded by the closing of the primary contacts. By this arrangement no signal can be given until all of the series of primary contacts are closed by the closing of all the doors, while the door which closes last-whichever one it may be-then acts at the last moment to momentarily close one of secondary normally open switches and thereby give the starting signal. In other words the set of normally open circuit-closers in multiple, which immediately control the starting signal, are dominated by or dependent upon the set of normally closed circuit-closers in series.

In Fig. 1 there are shown at l, 2, 3 and 4. the switches operated by the four doors of a car respectively. One of these is shown in detail in. Figs. 3 and 4, wherein D is a shaft concentric'wi-th the hinge-axis of a swinging door D This shaft passes through a switchboard A. above the door and carries a lever arm B on the outer extremity of which are two prongs or strikers b and 6 The said arm B also carries an insulating pin G which engages the contact spring P of the primary set of switch-contacts and holds it in contact with a similar contact spring P so long as the door is closed. The opening of the door will withdraw pin C and allow the contact springs to separate. E is a second lever of bell-crank form one end of which is engaged by the prongs b and b of arm B and the other end of which carries an insulating pin C that, when one of the prongs strikes the lever, will press spring S of the secondary set of contacts against spring S? and cause a momentary closure of the signal circuit, a spring F acting to retract the lever to its normal posi tion. The two prongs b and b will thus strike the lever in succession giving two blows of a single-stroke gong J contained in the circuit, that being the starting signal.

In Fig. 4 the door I) is shown in its normal closed position in full lines (the primary contacts being then held closed) and in its open position in dotted lines (the primary contacts being then open). From this drawing it will be readily understood how the door in passing from its opened to its shut position will first close the primary contacts and then immediately press to gether twice in succession the secondary contacts by the action of prongs and b on the lever E.

In Fig. 1 the circuit from the trolley enters resistance R and then branches, the branch 5 containing the starting signal apparatus and the branch 7 containing the stopping signal apparatus. The branch 5 passes to the primary contacts P, P at switch 2 and thence through the similar contacts P, P at switches 1, 3 and A in series, then at point 11 it branches, by wires 5 to one of each of the four pairs of secondary contact springs in multiple, While the other spring of each pair is connected to the wire 6, which, at the point 9 passes to the gongs J, J and to ground. Thus the first half of the starting-"signal circuit, viz. that part comprised by the Wire 5, contains the' several pairs of primary contacts P P in series, While the second half, viz. that part comprised by the Wires 5 and 6 contains the several pairs of secondary contacts S S in multiple. It will be obvious that, until all the primary contacts are closed, no signal can be given by the momentary closure of any of the secondary contacts. Hence it Will be only the last door to close, and thereby complete the closure of all the primary contacts, which Will give the starting signal by the momentary closure, twice in succession, of its secondary contacts.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modification in which the circuit 5 is taken from the point 13 on the opposite side of the rheotome K of the stopping-signal system, instead of from the point 12. In that case the closure of the starting signal circuit, by the means aforesaid, Will give a buzzer signal on the buzzer H of the stopping signal apparatus and the single-stroke gongs J, J can be omitted. The stopping signal apparatus includes the circuit 7 containing the buzzers H, H and rheotome K With the push button contacts G Gr in the branches 7 and 7 of that circuit 7.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A signal system comprising an electric circuit including a plurality of circuit closers, a signal in said circuit, means for in dependently operating said circuit closers, and an independent controller for said circuit actuated by the last one of said circuit closer-operating means to be operated.

2. A signal system comprising an electric circuit including a plurality of circuit closers arranged in series, a signal in said circuit, means for independently operating said circuit-closers, and an independent controller for said circuit actuated by the last one of said circuit closer-operating means to be operated. i

3. A signal system comprising an electric circuit including a plurality of circuit closers, a signal in said circuit, means for independently operating said circuit closers, and an independent controller for said circuit actuated by the last one of said circuit closer-operating means to be operated, said controller being ineffective until the circuit has been closed through all of said circuit closers.

A. A signal system comprising an electric circuit including a plurality of circuit closers arranged in series, and a plurality oi circuit closers arranged in multiple, signal devices arranged in said circuit, and means for operating said circuit closers, the second set of circuit closers being ineffective until the circuit has been closed through all of the first mentioned circuit closers.

5. A signal system comprising an electric circuit including a plurality of circuit closers arranged in series, and a plurality of: circuit closers arranged in multiple with one another and in series with the first mentioned circuit closers, signal devices arranged in said circuit, and means for operating said circuit closers, the second set of circuit closers being ineffective until the circuit has been closed through all of the first mentioned circuit closers.

6. A signal system comprising an electric circuit including a plurality of circuit closers arranged in series, and a plurality of circuit closers arranged in multiple, the first mentioned circuit closers being normally closed, the last mentioned circuit closers being normally open, signal devices arranged in said circuit, and means for operating said circuit closers, the second set of circuit closers being inefiective until the circuit has been closed through all of the first mentioned circuit closers.

7 A signal system comprising an electric circuit, signals in said circuit, a set of normally closed circuit closers in series with one another, a set of normally open circuit closers in multiple with one another, means for closing the normally open circuit closers, and means operated by each of the normally closed circuit closing means for momentarily closing the circuit through a corresponding normally open circuit closer after the normally closed circuit closer is moved to closing position.

8. A signal system comprising an electric circuit including a plurality of circuit closers arranged in series, and a plurality of circuit closers arranged in multiple, the first mentioned circuit closers being normally closed, the last mentioned circuit closers being normally open, signal devices arranged in said circuit, means for closing the normally open circuit closers, said means including means for momentarily actuating the normally closed circuit closers, the second mentioned circuit closers being ineiiective until the circuit has been closed through all of the first mentioned circuit closers.

9. In a signal system, the combination with a signal circuit and a signal operated thereby of a plurality of switches in said circuit each containing two sets of contacts one set normally closed the other set normally open and a common operating device for the contacts of each switch acting to close one set in advance of the other set, the normally closed sets being in series with one another, the normally open sets being in multiple With one another.

10. A car-signal system comprising a circuit, containing a plurality of door operated contacts in series, said circuit being normally open at another point, signal receiving devices and supplemental means for momentarily closing said circuit at said normally open point on the closure of all the said contacts by the closing of the doors. a

11. The combination With a plurality of car doors, of a primary and a secondary circuit controller operated by each door, the primary ones being in series and the secondary ones being in multiple in a common circuit, and a receiving device in said circuit operated by the said circuit controllers.

12. The combination with a plurality of car doors, of a primary and a secondary circuit controller for each door, the primary one being closed permanently and the secondary one temporarily by the closing of the door, and an electric circuit containing the said primary controllers in series and the said secondary controllers in multiple With a receiving device in said circuit operated by the said controllers.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, before tWo subscribing Witnesses, this 24th day of February, 1912.

JAMES F. MoELROY.

Witnesses:

HERBERT A. OAULKINs, CLARENCE PALMER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

